The Differential Roles

of Brand Credibility
and Brand Prestige in
Consumer Brand Choice
Tae Hyun Baek and Jooyoung Kim
University of Georgia

Jay Hyunjae Yu
Sogang University, South Korea

ABSTRACT

This study explores how brand credibility and brand prestige affect
brand purchase intention and empirically investigates how the com-
binatory mechanism of brand credibility and brand prestige materi-
alize across multiple product categories. The proposed model of six
latent constructs is tested with structural equation modeling analy-
sis: brand credibility, brand prestige, perceived quality, information
costs saved, perceived risk, and brand purchase intention. The
results suggest that both brand credibility and brand prestige posi-
tively influence brand purchase intention through perceived quality,
information costs saved, and perceived risk under different product
categories representing the high and low self-expressive nature.
Several implications for advertising messages and brand positioning
strategies are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Credibility and perceived value in the brand are often regarded as two impor-
tant virtues marketers need to pursue to build a strong brand (Vanrenen, 2005).
Credibility of a brand, defined as the perceived believability of whether a brand has
the ability and willingness to continuously deliver what has been promised
(Erdem & Swait, 2004), provides unbeatable benefits to both consumers and

Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 27(7): 662–678 (July 2010)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)
© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/mar.20350
662
companies. Simply put, for consumers, purchasing a credible brand assures a
quality that they can count on. For companies, a credible brand means that
marketing efforts will be more cost effective because of the heightened likelihood
of message acceptance, thus bringing companies increased sales through repeat
customers and referrals. Can advertising help increase brand credibility? Lit-
erature shows that advertising alone may have some limitations in the forma-
tion of strong brand credibility, but that it can boost credibility through the
added expectations that consumers will finally confirm when they purchase
and use the products. Theories of confirmation bias (e.g., Deighton, 1984), for
example, clearly show the significant role advertising plays in increasing per-
formance evaluations and brand credibility.
Another important virtue for building a strong brand is to have a high per-
ceived value in a brand. Although many different dimensions of perceived prod-
uct or brand value are defined in the literature, this study focuses on a more
hedonic and social aspect of value—“brand prestige,” defined as the relatively
high status of product positioning associated with a brand (Steenkamp, Batra, &
Alden, 2003). As brand credibility may indicate a more tangible and utilitarian
portion of perceived value, investigating another competing but different share
of perceived value (i.e., brand prestige) together with brand credibility will show
a bigger and more balanced picture of consumer decision processes. On the sur-
face, consumers in the U.S. market appear to spend more on luxury or presti-
gious brand categories. For the car market, for example, Lexus reported a 5.2%
gain in sales in the first eight months of 2007, compared to sales of the same
period in 2006. In addition, BMW and Audi sales were up 8.7% and 10.8%,
respectively, from 2006 (Simon & Reed, 2007). Accordingly, it is not surprising
to see that the consumer market has recently seen a considerable increase in the
amount of luxury brand marketing (Wiedmann, Hennigs, & Siebels, 2009; Keller,
2009). For example, Louis Vuitton’s advertising campaign, developed by the ad
agency Ogilvy & Mather, reflects a move by some luxury companies to connect
with consumers in a more strategic way, as opposed to the typical in-house
approach favored by many luxury brands (Pfanner, 2007).
Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of brand credibility
and brand prestige as brand signals, very few studies have investigated how both
brand credibility and brand prestige work in consumer choice behavior. Under-
standing the combinatory mechanism of brand credibility and brand prestige in
the formation of brand purchase intention will be very important and mean-
ingful for advertisers and marketers, as it provides guidance in developing
brand positioning through the most appropriate advertising and branding strate-
gies. In addition, little is known about whether conditions under the combina-
tory mechanism of brand credibility and brand prestige may be stronger or
weaker across various product categories in consumer decision making.
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it will investigate how brand cred-
ibility and brand prestige influence brand purchase intention. More specifically,
this research extends Erdem and Swait’s (1998) study by incorporating a new
construct that denotes brand prestige in the existing model of brand credibility.
Second, it will examine how the magnitude of brand credibility and brand pres-
tige effects vary according to the self-expressive–based product classification
scheme. This investigation can yield generalizability and robustness by exam-
ining how the effects of brand credibility and brand prestige work differently
under various product classifications.

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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

From an information economics perspective, signaling theory is based on the

assumption that a different level of product information flows between consumers
and firms and causes the problem of information asymmetry (Kirmani &
Rao, 2000). Information asymmetry implies consumer uncertainty about the
quality of a product or service provided by a company. One possible solution is
the use of signals. A signal is defined as “an action that the seller can take to
convey information credibly about unobservable product quality to the buyer”
(Rao, Qu, & Ruekert, 1999, p. 259).
Advertising, for example, may serve as a signal of a firm’s commitment to
its product or service quality (Nelson, 1974). Consumers also use their per-
ceptions of a firm’s advertising expenditures as cues to infer quality when
lacking other information about product quality (Kirmani, 1990). Since high
advertising costs are incurred primarily by high-quality firms that can recover
their advertising expenditures from future sales (Rao, Qu, & Ruekert, 1999),
such firms use advertising as a signal to ensure that their product or service
claims are credible. If low-quality firms spend large sums of money on adver-
tising, they do not typically recover their advertising costs because consumers
would recognize their low quality after purchase and repeat purchase would
not occur.
To date, it is a common practice for firms to use brands as signals to reduce
consumer uncertainty about product or service quality in a marketplace in which
asymmetric information exists (Washburn, Till, & Priluck, 2004; Gammoh, Voss,
& Chakraborty, 2006). According to Erdem and Swait (1998), a brand signal
consists of “a firm’s past and present marketing mix strategies and activities asso-
ciated with that brand. In other words, a brand becomes a signal because it
embodies (or symbolizes) a firm’s past and present marketing strategies”
(p. 135). Signaling theory suggests that consumers may perceive brands as a sig-
nal of unobservable product quality. For example, Rao, Qu, and Ruekert (1999)
argue that consumers tend to perceive branded products as higher in quality than
unbranded products. If consumers believe this logic, they will accept the branded
product’s quality claim as true. Therefore, brands can be effective signals of
unobservable quality.
Signaling theory also suggests that credibility is a key determinant of a brand
signal for conveying information effectively (Tirole, 1988). This implies that
brands can serve as credible signals because they may embody the cumulative
efforts of prior marketing communication strategies. That is, at the heart of
brands as signals is brand credibility.
In addition to brand credibility, a brand signal echoes certain symbolic mean-
ings about a product or service (Rao & Ruekert, 1994). The symbolic meaning
embedded in brands can often be used to represent the prestigious value of
brand positioning, referred to as brand prestige (Steenkamp, Batra, & Alden,
2003). Kapferer (1992) suggests that globally positioned brands are likely to
have special credibility and prestige.
Given the potential utility of brands as signals, both brand credibility and
brand prestige may influence consumers’ brand purchase intention because
they can enable consumers not only to increase their confidence in the
brand selection, but also to enhance their social status and self-worth through brand
purchase.

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Brand Credibility
The notion of brand credibility was inspired by Erdem and Swait (1998), who
examined consumer-based brand equity by drawing on signaling theory. As
briefly introduced earlier, they define brand credibility as the believability of the
product position information embedded in a brand, depending on consumers’
perceptions of whether the brand has the ability and willingness to continu-
ously deliver what has been promised (Erdem & Swait, 2004). It has been well
known that brand credibility consists of two main components: trustworthiness and
expertise (Erdem & Swait, 1998, 2004; Erdem, Swait, & Louviere, 2002; Erdem,
Swait, & Valenzuela, 2006; Sweeney & Swait, 2008). Trustworthiness refers to the
willingness of firms to deliver what they have promised. Expertise refers to the abil-
ity of firms to actually deliver what they have promised. Since the trustwor-
thiness and expertise of a brand are based on the cumulative impacts of all
previous marketing strategies and actions taken by a brand, it is not surpris-
ing that brand credibility reflects the consistency of marketing mix strategies
through brand investments such as advertising.
The constructs of consistency, brand investments, and clarity are antecedents
to brand credibility. Consistency represents the degree of harmony and con-
vergence among marketing actions and the stability of marketing mix strate-
gies over time (Erdem, Swait, & Valenzuela, 2006). Roberts and Urban (1988)
suggest that consistency in product quality leads to a low level of inherent prod-
uct variability. Brand investments represent a firm’s spending on brands in
order to demonstrate long-term brand commitment and to assure consumers
that brand promises will be kept (Klein & Leffler, 1981). Furthermore, clarity
represents a lack of ambiguity of the product information contained in a brand
(Erdem, Swait, & Louviere, 2002). In this sense, brand credibility can be created
and shaped by higher consistency, higher clarity, and higher brand investments
over time, through all practices and aspects of marketing communications such
as brand image advertising, sponsorship, or product placement. According to
Sweeney and Swait (2008), brand credibility represents the summary of brand-
to-consumer and consumer-to-brand communication over time because con-
sumers can have a relationship with the brand, and the brand communicates
with the consumer.
Prior research has suggested that brand credibility positively affects brand
purchase intention through perceived quality, perceived risk, and information
costs saved. In particular, perceived quality refers to “the consumer’s judgment
about the superiority or excellence” of a product or service (Zeithaml, 1988,
p. 5). Shiffman and Kanuk (2003) define perceived risk as “the uncertainty con-
sumers face when they cannot foresee the consequences of their purchase deci-
sions” (p. 153). On the other hand, Erdem and Swait (1998) assert that
information costs saved can be conceptualized by lowering information gather-
ing and processing costs, which include expenditure of time, money, and psy-
chological costs.
For example, Aaker (1991) points out that higher perceived quality, lower
information costs, and lower risks associated with credible brands can increase
consumer evaluations of brands. Consistent with the foregoing argument, Erdem
and Swait (1998) suggest that brand credibility increases perceived quality,
decreases perceived risk and information costs, and thus increases expected
consumer utility (i.e., brand purchase intention). It is also argued that perceived
risk is positively associated with information costs.

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 In order to replicate and test the generalizability of Erdem and Swait’s (1998)
framework across various product categories, the following hypotheses are
retested in this study. Later, these hypotheses will also allow us to examine the
differential roles of brand credibility and brand prestige in influencing con-
sumers’ brand purchase intention.

H1: Brand credibility will positively affect the perceived quality.

H2: Brand credibility will positively affect the information costs saved.

H3: Brand credibility will negatively affect the perceived risk.

Brand Prestige
As defined earlier, brand prestige can represent the relatively high status of prod-
uct positioning associated with a brand (Steenkamp, Batra, & Alden, 2003; Truong,
McColl, & Kitchen, 2009). An inherent, unique know-how, which concerns a
specific attribute or the overall quality and performance of the product, is the key
criterion for a brand to be judged prestigious (e.g., Dubois & Czellar, 2002). Further,
a higher price (e.g., Lichtenstein, Ridgway, & Netemeyer, 1993; Wiedmann, Hennigs,
& Siebels, 2009; Truong, McColl, & Kitchen, 2009) and the influence of reference
groups (e.g., Bearden & Etzel, 1982) on the consumption of prestige or luxury
brands are often used as proxies for brand prestige, even though they are not
equivalent to brand prestige. Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra (1999) argue that
consumers tend to perceive the consumption of prestige brands as a signal of
social status, wealth, or power since prestige brands are infrequently purchased
and are strongly linked to an individual’s self-concept and social image. Nev-
ertheless, brand prestige does not affect all individuals to the same degree. In
other words, consumption of prestige brands may vary according to the sus-
ceptibility to others (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999). Simply put, publicly self-
conscious individuals are particularly concerned about how they appear to others
and might be more likely to purchase prestige brands. Conversely, privately
self-conscious people are more focused on their inner thoughts and feelings, and
thus would be less likely to purchase prestige brands (Fenigstein, Scheier, &
Buss, 1975). According to O’Cass and Frost (2002), prestige brands differ from
non-prestige brands in some ways that may affect consumers’ purchasing motives
to improve their social standing and self-expression. Compared with non-
prestige brands, prestige brands not only provide intangible benefits to con-
sumers, but also create value for the consumer through status and conspicuous
consumption. Along this line, some scholars have suggested that consumers
may associate global brands as having higher prestige because of their relative
scarcity and higher price compared with local brands (Bearden & Etzel, 1982;
Batra et al., 2000). Wong and Zhou (2005) found that perceived brand prestige
has a greater effect on purchase intention when the product category is of high
social display value.
Brand prestige appears to be linked directly with perceived quality. For exam-
ple, Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden (2003) found that consumer value of a global
brand is positively associated with both brand prestige and perceived brand
quality. Furthermore, their results indicated that brand prestige has a signifi-
cant impact on purchase intention. Vigneron and Johnson (1999) synthesized the

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literature and said that brand prestige can provide prestige-seeking consumers
five values that they may want: perceived conspicuous value (to signal the brand
owner’s wealth, status, etc. to society), perceived unique value (based on scarcity),
perceived social value (because the brand is highly regarded by the social group
the consumer is affiliated with), perceived hedonic value, and perceived qual-
ity value. Among these, the first three values refer to social or interpersonal
effects, and the latter two values (perceived hedonic value and perceived qual-
ity value) are related to personal effects. As Vigneron and Johnson’s (1999)
framework clearly denotes, it would be acceptable to consider that consumers
look for quality (perceived quality value) by selecting prestigious brands.
Similarly, brand prestige may also decrease information costs because of the
signals a prestigious brand may send. A signal such as perceived social value will
reduce consumer efforts to acquire necessary information for making purchase
decisions because consumers may think that the product must be good if many
people in society desire to have it.
In addition, the quality cue and social benefit cue prestigious brands have will
signal to consumers that the purchase of a prestigious brand will reduce the
performance risk, psychological risk, and social risk normally associated with
product purchase decisions. For example, a Rolex Sea-Dweller that works 1220
meters underwater will signal that quality will significantly reduce the risk of
performance failure and the psychological risk that can be generated from a
poor performance. Furthermore, the perceived social value may also reduce the
social risk for consumers who seek such a value in their products. Taken together,
the following hypotheses are presented:

H4: Brand prestige will positively affect the perceived quality.

H5: Brand prestige will positively affect the information costs saved.

H6: Brand prestige will negatively affect the perceived risk.

Situational Validation Study: The Moderating Role of

Self-Expressive Product Classification
To precisely investigate under what conditions brand credibility and brand pres-
tige operate differently in consumers’ brand purchase intention, this study com-
pares the combined effects of brand credibility and brand prestige on purchase
intention across product categories that vary on the high and low self-expressive
continuum. It is argued that this investigation can increase the generalizabil-
ity and robustness of the results by providing inferences relating to specific sit-
uations in which brand credibility and brand prestige may work differently.
While high self-expressive products (e.g., clothing, cosmetics, and fragrance)
provide symbolic and affective benefits for the consumer, low self-expressive
products (e.g., film, pain relievers, and toothpaste) deliver functional and cog-
nitively oriented benefits (Aaker, 1997). Given that the main consumption pur-
pose of high self-expressive products is to pursue conspicuous and hedonic values
(Aaker, 1999), consumers are likely to consider the prestige of a brand when
they purchase high self-expressive products. Vigneron and Johnson (1999) sug-
gest that prestige-seeking consumer behavior is influenced by the motives
of sociability and self-expression. Further, O’Cass and Frost (2002) argue that

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conspicuous consumption is the process of gaining status or social prestige from
the acquisition and consumption of products that the individual and significant
others perceive to be high in status. For example, Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden
(2003) found that brand prestige has a stronger effect on purchase intention
when the product category is more conspicuous and its ownership or consump-
tion is more publicly visible.
Given that the concept of prestige is associated with perceived conspicuous
and hedonic values (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999), brand prestige may have more
influence on consumer brand choice in high self-expressive products than in
low self-expressive products. According to Bhat and Reddy (2001), perceived
prestige orientation of a brand may be conveyed by personality expression. Since
brand credibility is regarded as a cognitive construct (Kim, Morris, & Swait,
2008), it can be more important in low self-expressive products than in high
self-expressive products. Thus, it is expected that brand prestige’s overall impact
on purchase intention is stronger than brand credibility’s overall impact for
high self-expressive products, whereas brand credibility’s overall impact is
greater than brand prestige’s overall impact for low self-expressive products.
Given the preceding discussion, the following hypotheses are proposed.

H7: For the high-expressive product, brand prestige’s total impact on pur-
chase intention will be greater than brand credibility’s total impact.

H8: For the low-expressive product, brand credibility’s total impact on purchase
intention will be greater than brand prestige’s total impact.

METHOD

Procedure
Prior to testing the hypotheses, a pretest was performed to identify product cat-
egories reflecting the high and low self-expressive characteristics and to pre-check
the manipulation of self-expressive products. Details about the specific product
selections and the self-expressive manipulations are discussed later. Samples
for the pretest and the main study were undergraduate college students.
Although the sampling criteria may be a potential limitation to the general-
ization of the results, student samples are one of the most homogeneous segments
of consumers and are among the important target groups for many product cat-
egories. Erdem and Swait (1998) have confirmed the validity of their brand
credibility model using undergraduate student samples.
In the main study, subjects were randomly assigned to a questionnaire that cov-
ered two of the four product classes representing the high and low self-expressive
natures. The data were collected through an online survey-based procedure,
which ensured method invariance. A random link generator was used to ran-
domize questionnaire distribution. Preceding this, analysis of the main study
consisted of two steps. First, the pooled data of all manipulation conditions were
analyzed to test the proposed model using structural equation modeling (SEM)
via the use of LISREL 8.72 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1996). Second, multigroup
analyses were conducted to test the moderating roles of self-expressive product
classification.

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Measurement Instruments
Brand credibility, perceived quality, perceived risk, information costs saved, and
purchase intention were measured using 9-point scales (e.g., 1
strongly disagree
and 9
strongly agree) developed by Erdem and Swait (1998). Nine-point scales
have been validated for measuring brand credibility (6 items), perceived quality
(2 items), perceived risk (3 items), information costs saved (3 items), and purchase
intention (3 items) (Erdem & Swait, 1998, 2004; Erdem, Swait, & Louviere, 2002;
Erdem, Swait, & Valenzuela, 2006). Brand prestige was measured with a three-
item scale derived from previous research (Han & Terpstra, 1988; Steenkamp,
Batra, & Alden, 2003). It was also framed as a 9-point scale.

Pretest Results
In an attempt to identify the high and low self-expressive product categories, an
initial pool of 12 product categories was selected through focus groups. Forty
undergraduate college students (male
40%, female
60%, and age M
20)
were asked to evaluate the self-expressive characteristics of 12 product cate-
gories. With a 7-point Likert scale anchored by strongly disagree and strongly
agree, the three self-expression items were (1) “This product helps me to express
myself,” (2) “This product reflects my personality,” and (3) “This product enhances
my self-image.” The scale for the self-expressive value of the product was adopted
from Kim, Han, and Park’s (2001) study and modified to better fit within the con-
text of product category.
Among the product categories, business/dress shoes (M
5.40, SD
1.08)
and perfume (M
5.46, SD
1.40) were chosen as high self-expressive prod-
ucts, while disposable AA-size batteries (M
1.68, SD
1.01) and headache
medication (M
2.11, SD
1.31) were selected as low self-expressive prod-
ucts. These product categories were the most commonly listed products and
were not gender-specific products such as cosmetics, ties, or handbags.
The manipulation check showed that there were significant differences between
the self-expressive perceptions for each product. The mean differences
between the pairs of different product types [e.g., business/dress shoes and dis-
posable AA-size batteries (t
3.72, p  0.001)] were significant, whereas the
mean differences between the pairs of the same product types [e.g., business/dress
shoes and perfume (t
0.05, p  0.05)] were not significant. Therefore, the
manipulation check was successful.

Sample
The initial sample consisted of 152 undergraduate students (37.5% male and 62.5%
female) enrolled in introductory courses at a large southeastern university. Respon-
dents’ ages ranged from 18 to 25 years, with an average age of 20 years.
Participants who completed the survey were given extra course credit as an
incentive.
Subjects were randomly assigned to a questionnaire covering two of the four
product categories (i.e., business/dress shoes, perfume, disposable AA-size bat-
teries, and headache medication). Following Erdem and Swait’s (2004) approach,
five brands were presented in each product category to cover a wide range of mar-
ket share, which in turn led to increased potential heterogeneity in the brand

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Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
constructs of interest.1 After missing data were treated with listwise deletion of
cases, a total of 1500 observations (150 participants  2 product classes  5
brands) were used to analyze the pooled data.

RESULTS

Assumption Check
Prior to the main analysis, several underlying assumptions for structural equa-
tion modeling (SEM) were checked. The fundamental statistical assumptions for
SEM analysis were similar to those for factor analysis: sampling adequacy, no
extreme multicollinearity, and normality (Hair et al., 1998). Kaiser-Meyer-
Olkin’s measure of sampling adequacy was 0.962, and Bartlett’s Test of Spheric-
ity index was significant ( p  0.001). Therefore, there was substantial evidence
for the planned factoring of the 20 items used in the study (Kaiser, 1974). Since
extracted communalities were 0.538 to 0.908 across all measurement items,
there was no extreme multicollinearity among the 20 measurement items.
The univariate normality assumption was satisfied because all skewness and
kurtosis values associated with each item were within the range of  1.96 (1.051 
all skewness values  0.408; 1.138  all kurtosis values  0.166). The value
for multivariate normality was 1.683, which was well below the maximum cut-
off of the absolute value of 2.0 for multivariate normality (Kline, 2005).

Measurement Model
The hypothesized relationships were tested using a two-step procedure sug-
gested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988). For a two-step approach to structural
equation modeling, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the measurement
model was first conducted to evaluate whether the measurement items had the
appropriate properties to represent each construct. After achieving a satisfac-
tory fit in the measurement model, the structural model was estimated. Accord-
ing to Close et al. (2006), this method allows for rigorous testing of measurement
reliability and validity before subjecting the structural model to tests of fit
(p. 426). Since the normality assumption was met, the maximum likelihood esti-
mation method was used for the CFA in the study. Overall goodness-of-fit indices
were satisfactory [x2(155)
1315.73 ( p  0.001), GFI
0.92, AGFI
0.90,
RMSEA
0.072, NNFI
0.99, CFI
0.99, SRMR
0.031]. Since the meas-
urement model revealed a good fit, measurement respecification—a process of
adding or deleting estimated parameters from the original model (Hair et al.,
1988)—was not performed.
In this study, reliability and validity were evaluated using the pooled data
across four product categories. For internal reliability, Cronbach’s alpha coeffi-
cients were calculated for all items of each construct. Results indicated that all
the scales were considered to be reliable (Cronbach’s alphas for brand credibil-
ity
0.96, brand prestige
0.94, perceived quality
0.92, information costs
saved
0.88, perceived risk
0.84, and purchase intention
0.88).

1
The following brands were selected from the Mintel (2007) market research reports: business/dress
shoes: Bally, Kenneth Cole, Salvatore Ferragamo, Steve Madden, Rockport; perfume: Giorgio
Armani, Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Davidoff, Burberry; disposable AA-size batteries:
Duracell, Energizer, Eveready, Rayovac, Panasonic; headache medication: Advil, Bayer, Excedrin,
Motrin, Tylenol.

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Table 1. Measurement Model.

Factor
Constructs Measurement items Loadings

Brand 1. This brand delivers (or would deliver) what it promises. 0.88*
credibility 2. Product claims from this brand are believable. 0.90*
3. Over time, my experiences with this brand led me 0.90*
to expect it to keep its promises.
4. This brand is committed to delivering on its claims. 0.92*
5. This brand has a name you can trust. 0.88*
6. This brand has the ability to deliver what it promises. 0.91*
Brand 7. This brand is very prestigious. 0.94*
prestige 8. This brand has high status. 0.96*
9. This brand is very upscale. 0.87*
Perceived 10. The quality of this brand is very high. 0.93*
quality 11. In terms of overall quality, I would rate this brand as: 0.93*
Information 12. Knowing what I am going to get from this brand 0.82*
costs saved saves me time shopping around.
13. This brand gives me what I want, which saves 0.87*
me time and effort trying to do better.
14. I know I can count on this brand to be available 0.84*
in the future.
Perceived risk 15. I need a lot more information about this brand 0.85*
before I would buy it.
16. I never know how good this brand will be before 0.84*
I buy it.
17. To figure out what this brand is like, I would have 0.72*
to try it several times.
Purchase 18. I would never buy this brand. (R) 0.77*
intention 19. I would seriously consider purchasing this brand. 0.88*
20. How likely would you be to purchase this brand? 0.90*
Note: All items on 9-point “strongly disagree/strongly agree” scale were measured, except items 11
(9-point “low quality/high quality” scale), and 20 (“very unlikely/very likely” scale); (R) after an item indicates
that it was reversed for inclusion in the model; factor loading is based on standardized estimates.

* p  0.05.

Convergent validity was assessed by examining the factor loading for statis-
tical significance (Sujan, Weitz, & Kumar, 1994). As indicated in Table 1, all fac-
tor loadings were statistically significant (p  0.05) within an acceptable range
(from 0.72 to 0.96). In addition, the average variance extracted (AVE) was cal-
culated for rigorous testing of measurement validity. Fornell and Larcker (1981)
asserted that the average variance extracted (AVE) should be greater than the
recommended 0.50 to achieve convergent validity. As shown in Table 2, it was
found that the AVE values were greater than 0.50 for all constructs (0.616  all
AVE values  0.845), thus providing strong evidence of convergent validity.
Discriminant validity was evaluated by comparing the AVE estimates for
each construct with the square of the parameter estimates between the two
constructs. According to Fornell and Larcker (1981), discriminant validity is
achieved if the AVE of each construct exceeds the square of the standardized cor-
relations between the two constructs. All AVE estimates (e.g., 0.779 and 0.832
for brand credibility and brand prestige, respectively) were greater than the

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Table 2. Correlation Matrix of Constructs.

Constructs AVE 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Brand credibility 0.779 1

2. Brand prestige 0.832 0.72 1
3. Perceived quality 0.845 0.87 0.89 1
4. Information costs saved 0.745 0.84 0.74 0.87 1
5. Perceived risk 0.631 0.62 0.51 0.64 0.72 1
6. Purchase inntention 0.616 0.75 0.66 0.75 0.76 0.69 1

Table 3. Standardized Path Coefficients of Structural Model.

Path
Paths Hypotheses Coefficients t-value

Brand credibility → Perceived quality H1: supported 0.49* 25.09

Brand credibility → Information costs saved H2: supported 0.50* 17.13
Brand credibility → Perceived risk H3: supported 0.55* 14.89
Brand prestige → Perceived quality H4: supported 0.54* 26.79
Brand prestige → Information costs saved H5: supported 0.24* 9.85
Brand prestige → Perceived risk H6: supported 0.12* 3.52
* p  0.05.

squared correlations between all constructs (e.g., 0.722
0.518). Thus, both
convergent validity and discriminant validity were established.

Structural Model and Hypothesis Testing

The structural model was analyzed using the maximum likelihood estimation
method. To determine whether the hypotheses were supported, each structural
path coefficient was examined with fit indices of the proposed model. Overall, the
fit indices showed a good fit for the model [x2(159)
1417.47 ( p  0.001),
GFI
0.91, AGFI
0.88, RMSEA
0.073, NNFI
0.99, CFI
0.99, SRMR

0.034].
Each of the path coefficients was statistically significant (p  0.05) in the pre-
dicted direction. That is, all hypothesized paths and directions are supported. As
indicated in Table 3, brand credibility was found to have a positive impact on per-
ceived quality (H1) and information costs saved (H2), but a negative effect on
perceived risk (H3). The results also indicated that brand prestige positively influ-
ences perceived quality (H4) and information costs saved (H5), while brand pres-
tige negatively affects perceived risk (H6). Thus, H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6 were
completely supported, as shown via the hypothesized path results in Figure 1.

Multiple-Group Analyses
To test the proposed model for the moderating effect of self-expressive product
classification, a multigroup approach was employed, which requires “the use of

672 BAEK, KIM, AND YU

Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
 Perceived Quality
0.49*
0.36*
Brand Credibility
0.50*

Information Costs 0.27* Purchase

0.72* Saved Intention
0.54*

0.24* 0.55 0.28*a

Brand Prestige 0.27*

0.12*
Perceived Risk

* p  0.05.

x2 (159)
1417.47 (p  0.001); GFI
0.91; NFI
0.99; CFI
0.99; SRMR
0.034; RMSEA
0.073

Figure 1. Hypothesized path values.

the covariance matrix rather than the correlation matrix” (Maruyama, 1998,
p. 258). For the multiple-group analysis, the data were divided into separate
covariance matrices for high self-expressive product categories (N
660) and
low self-expressive product categories (N
840).
For comparison, the base model is defined as “the unconstrained model where
all paths are free to vary across both groups” (Garretson & Niedrich, 2004, p.
30). After the base model was run simultaneously, without invariance of path
coefficients, each gamma (i.e., all paths from exogenous variables to endoge-
nous variables) and beta path (i.e., all paths among endogenous variables) was
tested individually for equivalency by fixing each path coefficient in one group
to be equal to the other one by one.
Furthermore, a chi-square difference test was performed to examine the path
coefficient differences across groups (i.e., high vs. low self-expressive products).
Given that the chi-square difference test provides significant results, the path
coefficients were significantly different across groups. Therefore, it can be con-
cluded that there is a moderating role affecting the relationship between inde-
pendent and dependent variables (Kline, 2005).
Table 4 presents the path coefficients across groups (i.e., high vs. low self-
expressive products). There were significant differences [x2 (df
1)  3.84] in
path coefficients of brand credibility → perceived quality and brand prestige →
perceived quality and perceived risk → information costs saved between high
and low self-expressive product groups. The total effect comparison indicates that
brand credibility has more effect on purchase intention in the low self-expres-
sive product group (0.53) than in the high self-expressive product group (0.41),
whereas brand prestige has more influence on purchase intention in the high
self-expressive product group (0.40) than in the low self-expressive product
group (0.28).
Given the condition that the products were high self-expressive, H7 was not sup-
ported because the difference in coefficient size between brand credibility’s total
effect on purchase intention (0.41) and brand prestige’s total effect on purchase
intention (0.40) was very minimal (0.01). However, for low self-expressive

BRAND CREDIBILITY AND BRAND PRESTIGE 673

Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
Table 4. Path Coefficients under Experimental Conditions.

Standardized Path
Coefficients

High Self- Low Self-

Expressive Expressive
 2 Product Product
Paths (df
1) Group Group

Brand credibility → Perceived quality 58.90* 0.35* 0.62*

Brand credibility → Information 0.14 n.s. 0.49* 0.47*
costs saved
Brand credibility → Perceived risk 0.18 n.s. 0.54* 0.51*
Brand prestige → Perceived quality 41.96* 0.66* 0.42*
Brand prestige → Information 0.00 n.s. 0.28* 0.28*
costs saved
Brand prestige → Perceived risk 0.05 n.s. 0.16* 0.14*
Perceived risk → Information costs saved 6.61* ⴚ0.20* ⴚ0.32*
Perceived quality → Purchase intention 0.02 n.s. 0.43* 0.45*
Information costs saved → Purchase 0.01 n.s. 0.18* 0.19*
intention
Perceived risk → Purchase intention 0.70 n.s. 0.25* 0.30*
Brand credibility → Purchase — 0.41* 0.53*
intention (Total)
Brand prestige → Purchase — 0.40* 0.28*
intention (Total)
Note: x 2
Chi-square difference; n.s. = not significant at the 0.05 level. If x2 (df
1)  3.84, the path
coefficient difference between two groups is significant (p  0.05).

* p  0.05.

product groups, brand credibility’s total impact (0.53) was stronger than brand pres-
tige’s total impact (0.28). Thus, H8 was supported. As anticipated, compared with
brand prestige, brand credibility was significantly more effective in influencing
brand purchase intention process when the product is low-self expressive.

DISCUSSION

The objective of this study was to investigate how brand credibility and brand
prestige affect consumer brand purchase processes and how brand credibility and
brand prestige work differently across multiple product categories that differ in
terms of their high and low self-expressive nature. Consistent with the results of
Erdem and Swait’s (1998) study, the findings of this research showed that brand
credibility positively influences perceived quality and information costs saved,
but negatively influences perceived risk, and all three latent constructs increase
brand purchase intention. More importantly, it was discovered that brand pres-
tige also exerts positive influences on purchase intention mediated by perceived
quality, information costs saved, and perceived risk. Despite the theoretical plau-
sibility, the linkages between brand prestige and its consequences have rarely
been studied in the marketing and consumer behavior literature. The results

674 BAEK, KIM, AND YU

Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
suggest that brand prestige may effectively serve as a signal of symbolic brand
positioning for consumers who wish to enhance their social image and self-
image. Past research has suggested that symbolic brands with a high prestige
orientation achieve a stronger brand image fit than non–prestige-oriented brands
(Bhat & Reddy, 2001; Lau & Phau, 2007). For example, Bhat and Reddy (1998)
argue that a symbolic brand could be positioned by satisfying consumers’ moti-
vations toward either “prestige” or “personality expression.”
The present study sheds light on the underlying mechanisms through which
brand credibility and brand prestige effects on purchase intention materialize
across various product categories. Although the paths through which brand
credibility and brand prestige influence brand purchase intention differed some-
what across the high and low self-expressive product categories, the proposed
model examining the dual effects of brand credibility and brand prestige on
consumers’ brand purchase intention were empirically robust across a variety
of product categories. The results suggest that brand credibility and brand pres-
tige can serve as meaningful constructs contributing to the formation of con-
sumers’ brand purchase intention.
Under high self-expressive product categories, it was expected that total
brand prestige impacts on purchase intention were stronger than total brand
credibility impacts because high self-expressive product categories may pertain
to a conspicuous consumption nature and may be hedonic oriented. However, the
results of this study did not confirm this. Rather, it was found that the balanced
roles of brand credibility and brand prestige affect brand purchase intention in
high self-expressive product groups. The result suggests that consumers tend
to focus on both brand credibility and brand prestige when they purchase high
self-expressive products.
A possible explanation may be due to the relationship between brand credibil-
ity and brand prestige. In other words, high brand prestige may be linked to
high brand credibility. Note, however, that this does not mean that high brand cred-
ibility necessarily implies high brand prestige. For example, Rolex as a prestigious
brand has high levels of brand credibility, while Timex as a credible brand does not
have high levels of brand prestige. The findings of this study imply that both brand
credibility and brand prestige are important considerations in consumers’ decision-
making processes for brands in high self-expressive product categories.
Interestingly, brand credibility has a stronger influence on purchase inten-
tion than brand prestige in low self-expressive product categories. Since low
self-expressive product categories represent functional features, consumers are
more influenced by brand credibility, which provides cognitively oriented benefits
(Kim, Morris, & Swait, 2008). Overall, these findings suggest that the self-
expressive characteristic of the product category partially moderates the dual
effects of brand credibility and brand prestige on purchase intention.
On the managerial front, the findings of this study contribute to the devel-
opment of brand positioning strategy through the use of advertising and provide
a better understanding of brand credibility and brand prestige in consumer
brand choice processes. Taken together, this study suggests that advertisers
and marketers of high self-expressive product categories might benefit from
positioning a brand as a prestigious brand, adding advertising messages that
represent a brand’s trustworthiness and expertise. Given the importance of
brand credibility for low self-expressive products, advertisers and marketers
should consider emphasizing message strategies that invoke either risk reduction

BRAND CREDIBILITY AND BRAND PRESTIGE 675

Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
or saving on information costs in order to successfully position a brand as being
credible.

LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Although the present study provides valuable insights into understanding the
combinatory mechanism of brand credibility and brand prestige across multiple
product categories, there are several limitations. First, the use of student sam-
ples may not be representative of the larger population. Another avenue for fur-
ther research is to replicate the proposed model on nonstudent samples to increase
the generalizability of the results. Second, the hypothesized relationships
for several brand constructs were tested with 20 different brands. However, this
study still relied on a limited number of product categories (i.e., business/dress
shoes, perfume, disposable AA-size batteries, and headache medication). There-
fore, future research is needed to examine the generalizability and robustness of
the proposed model with a larger set of product/service categories.
Finally, this study focused only on the United States. The validity of the pro-
posed model in regard to the combined effects of brand credibility and brand
prestige on purchase intention outside the United States is not clear. With the
growing trend in brand globalization, there is a need to apply the proposed model
across countries and/or cultures. This study suggests that two of Hofstede’s (1980)
cultural dimensions (i.e., uncertainty avoidance and power distance) may par-
ticularly affect the power of brand credibility and brand prestige in explaining
consumer brand choice because uncertainty avoidance is most clearly related to
brand credibility, but power distance is closely associated with brand prestige.
Erdem, Swait, and Valenzuela (2006) suggest that brand credibility’s impact on
consumer brand choice increases with uncertainty avoidance. On the other hand,
high power distance cultures tend to emphasize the importance of prestige in
vertical relationships between social classes (Hofstede, 1980). Thus, future
research should be a cross-country validation study that examines how brand cred-
ibility and brand prestige work differently under cultural differences, focusing
on the moderating effects of uncertainty avoidance and power distance.

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Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to: Jooyoung Kim, Department of
Advertising and Public Relations, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communica-
tion, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3018 ( jykim@uga.edu).

678 BAEK, KIM, AND YU

Psychology & Marketing DOI: 10.1002/mar
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